Blaze in Bengaluru cafe exposes gaps in safety protocols

Bengaluru: A massive fire tore through the fourth floor of a commercial building in southern Bengaluru on Wednesday, once again exposing the gaping holes in the enforcement of fire safety protocols in the city. 

The fire broke out around 12 pm at the Mudpipe Cafe, a hookah bar and cafe on the fourth floor of the KDP building at the junction of Tavarekere Main Road and Hosur Main Road. The building also houses a Maruti Suzuki Nexa showroom, a Cult Fit fitness centre, and the Institute of Product Leadership, and is very close to the Nexus Mall, Koramangala. One person jumped from the fourth floor and sustained severe injuries. 

The fire force received a phone call at 12.04 pm and dispatched five water tankers, two water bowsers, and one Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) from High Grounds, Jayanagar, Hulimavu, Electronics City and Sarjapur stations to douse the flames. Traffic crawled on Hosur Main Road for a couple of hours as vehicles had to make way for the fire tenders. 

The injured victim was identified as Prem Kumar, 29, a chef hailing from Nepal. He was initially taken to KG Hospital in Jayanagar but was shifted to Apollo Hospital, Jayanagar, around 3.15 pm for CT or MRI scans and further life-saving treatment. 

Kamal Pant, Director General of Fire and Emergency Services, said 12 cylinders were stocked in just one place. It is suspected that Kumar, the chef, was about to begin work when a gas leak ignited a fire which spread rapidly, he said. “The chef was cooking close to where 12 cylinders were stored, four of which burst. Two of the four were completely ripped apart to resemble a single sheet of metal. The whole incident occurred due to the cafe owner’s negligence,” Pant told DH. 

There were virtually no emergency exits and the entrance to the cafe was also narrow, according to officials.

A case has been registered at the SG Palya police station against the cafe owner, Karan Jain, and the building owner, Kunthal Ameen, under IPC sections 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substances) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by endangering life or personal safety of others). 

The suo motu FIR seen by DH stated that the suspects were careless and negligent in storing the gas cylinders and had neither taken any fire safety measures nor ensured the provision of functional emergency exits on the floor. It further stated that he had not obtained a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from the fire safety department. 

Shobith Kumaraswamy, the Nexa showroom manager, said about 100 people, including employees and customers, were inside, all of whom rushed out the instant they were notified of a fire. “Five two-wheelers of our employees and one customer’s car were damaged. Our walls were also damaged because of the fire. It is completely a fault of the employees in the hookah bar,” he said. 

An employee of the showroom said that the customer’s car was due to be delivered at 4.30 pm. Another employee noted that there were a total of four cars parked outside, three of which were moved just in time.